Open log.

[darkremnant]

 Who: darkremnant (Vanitas), possiblydepolarized (Riku) and YOU

What: STEP RIGHT UP, ITS SHOW TIME. Open log.

Or Van Shows You His Tricks’ and Yin Goes Missing In the Park While Riku Is At A Really Long Ice Cream Line. Seriously, did he die? Who cares, that guy sucks.

Where: The Oh So Convenient Park Near You!

When: July 20

 

[Some notes:

1. Van is in complete control of who wins/loses the games. But generally if your character looks rich, they’re likely going to lose because Van will cheat. For modest-looking characters, they may win/lose based on a coin flip on random.com.

2. Games will range from simple card games and trick like pick a card, blackjack and gin to finding a ball under a cup or just random betting games I find on quirkology if card games don’t keep your characters’ attention.

3. Please PM or drop an OOC note here if any questions or concerns! :D

4. Riku might do random tags. However, will be gone for long periods of time. Probably photographing stuff or getting food/drinks.
 

5. Yin, their 2-3 yr. old female black doberman, is very friendly and playful, but gentle and neat, for a dog. She’ll be played by either me or Myth, if around. ]

 

It’s a beautiful day at the park, sun shining, wind balmy, and one spiky-haired teenager in a hoodie setting up camp on a park bench. There’s a small folding table open before him and a variety of cards, cups, and other weird stuff neatly stacked beside him. There’s a crowd already, it looks like, and business is brisk. That is, of course, when his eye lands on you. “Hey, you. Care to try your luck? You can win big like this guy here just did.” He pointed to a man that’s walking away with some winnings. “Come on now, I’ll even let you pick the game!”

 

While you’re being fleeced, though, there’s a black doberman barking and playing with a few people, including a small child that’s doing her very best to ride her. Gentle and friendly as she is, you’d never guess she belonged to the boy on the bench and one other who appears to be missing from the scene. 

 

The dog doesn’t seem to mind the attention, in fact she quite likes it if her wagging tail is any evidence. Some people offer her treats, but she’ll either bow her head and drink from her water dish or look at her master when they do to see if he gives the okay.

 

Comments

[ex_elude798]

For his part, Suzaku isn't paying the people around him any mind as he makes his way down the bike path. Cutting through the park saves him time on his walk, and efficiency is always a good thing. Occasionally he shifts the bags he's carrying, brown paper crinkling with each step.

An orange tabby is perched on his shoulders, moving about to compensate for his movement. Small, needle-like claws dig into his shoulders as the kitten tries to find and maintain purchase on him. Sometimes he winces a little, but he doesn't appear to be bothered by it. At the least, he doesn't pause to do anything about it. And since the kitten is purring like a little motor it's no real wonder why.

When he spots the dog, he pauses. He reaches into one of the bags awkwardly, attempting to balance them without throwing the cat off. Even more impressive is his attempt to tear open a plastic wrapper one-handed. It's an awkward display, however, Suzaku succeeds with persistence.

And then he offers the dog what looks like a roll. It is in fact a bun with red bean paste in it, since he just visited the Asian market. The way his godfather eats, stocking up on food that's actually good is a priority. Since to his knowledge, dogs will eat just about anything, he figures it's a decent enough snack.

At least, he likes them.

Suzaku winces again as the kitten bristles on his shoulder, tail puffing up like a bottle brush. "Ouch- quit that."

[darkremnant]

"Hm? No money? Well that's not my problem is it? Get lost!" Van snapped at a guy who was lingering too long. The guy flipped him off then stomped away as Van shuffled his card with a satisfied grin.

"Ouch- quit that."

Van blinked when he heard a boy's voice by Yin. Hurting? Yin'd never hurt anything. He frown and walked over to see what was happening. "Hey, hey, what's going on here-- Oh. A cat." Well that made more sense.

Yin was sitting up and wagging her tail. She paid no mind to the bun but was staring at the kitten curiously. "Well looks like your making two new friends here, girl. Go on. Say hello. Speak, girl."

The dog barked excitedly at the command.

[ex_elude798]

The kitten on Suzaku's shoulder hissed, bristling up all the more. Her tiny size was nearly doubled with her agitation, arching her back and digging her claws in. Suzaku tenses from the unpleasant needling, but having someone else around, grits his teeth and says nothing about it.

Since the dog doesn't seem interested in food, he sets the bun back in one of the bags. Suppose there's no accounting for American tastes, even when it comes to the animals.

He turns around and levels a flat stare at the dog's owner. There's no doubt in his mind that the guy prompted his dog to speak on purpose. But reacting to it isn't likely to serve any productive end and probably isn't worth his time.

"Friendly dog," Suzaku finally says, after a considerably long bout of silence.

[darkremnant]

Well that's a shame. He was hoping for a hilarious freakout that may result in some face scratched and the cat perched on his head like a fuzzy hat. 'Oh well.'

"Yep, she's the best. Though from that sour look your giving, and that fuzzball on your neck, I take it your not a dog guy?" Van looked over the guy calmly making a silent profile. Actually... that face and that strict voice... plus cat. This picture looked familiar...

A look of realization crossed his face when he finally pieced it all together. It was the cat guy from the network! The cat guy... taking his cat out for a walk? The image was almost so perfect it nearly made Van laugh.

"So do you often take your cats out for walks or did you just run out of meow mix?" He gestures to the bags the stranger was holding.

[ex_elude798]

Suzaku knew recognition when he saw it, though for much of his life it was followed by immediate retreat. Things had been somewhat difference since he'd come to this town, however, he always half-expected that outcome. But that wasn't the case with this guy.

He shifted the bags to one hand and reached up to pet the cat on his shoulder. Although she bumped her head against his fingers, her claws were firmly rooted. It figured.

The comment was worth a small frown, if only because he never ceased to be impressed by how rude Americans were. Even years later there were times that he marveled at it. No subtlety. That's how he saw it.

"Nothing against dogs. This cat's a stray," Suzaku replied. A kitten as small as this one was couldn't get by on her own. Although he'd looked for the mother, or even an owner, he'd had no success.

[darkremnant]

"Oh, so that's just your face." Van stated with a shrug. "So no meow mix?" He doubted the cat lady was without cat food or even catnip in his pockets.

"And what were you trying to give my dog anyway?" He reached into the bag quickly and plucked out the bun the man was just trying to give Yin then sniffed it, stepping back just out of the man's reach if he tried to grab it back. He bit it curiously...then spat it out after making a face.

"Ew, what is this? Toothpaste danish?" He sniffed it again. Maye it'll be better now. He took another bite... nope. "Bleck..." He spat it out again.

"This what you feed your pets, Cat Lady? No wonder they run away."

[ex_elude798]

"Americans..." Suzaku can't help saying the word in a manner that suggests he really means 'uncultured clod.' And he certainly makes no effort to mask it, rolling his eyes and wondering why the guy'd bite into anything without asking. But those seem to be the kind of manners people have here.

He doesn't particularly care about being called Cat Lady, if the impassive expression he has is any indication. It is a mild insult that some idiot who doesn't know him would suggest his pets run away all the time, but he doesn't know they don't.

And frankly, Suzaku doesn't much care what the guy knows.

"I think I understand. You've never used toothpaste and have no idea how different it tastes from food. Genuine shame, truly." Two can play the insult game, and he isn't half bad at it.

[depolarized]

Riku blinked as he got back with the corndogs from the cart. Was that...? That mop of brown hair and stiff set of shoulders was noticeable anywhere. He didn't quite catch most of the conversation, though.

He walked up to Van and Yin, passing Van his share. "Suzaku." A nod for him and a quick crouch to scritch behind Yin's ears, earning him some enthusiastic licking. "Not running people over today?"

[darkremnant]

"Americans? Oooh, not home grown eh?" Van chuckled and eyed the man like pray. Not really paying mind to the man trying to use the word as an insult. This wasn't his first snooty foreigner after all. Van started to circle him, curiously.

"Was that your long winded way of saying my breath smells? Oh shit, don't you go breaking out dental hygiene insults!" Van chuckled and patted him on the back.

"Princess!" Van shouted sharply when he spotted Riku. "Geez about time! I'm starving over here." He growled and snatch his share up when Riku handed it him the corn dog.

"Eh, running people over? You know the cat lady?" He asked curiously before taking a bite of his food.

[depolarized]

"Take it easy, the line was long." He shrugged, taking a bit of his own corndog and breaking off a bit for Yin. She licked it off his palm.

"'Cat lady'? ...A long time ago, before we moved here. I didn't know he was here until he bowled me over last week."

[ex_elude798]

"I'm assuming that thing is yours," while looking at Riku, he tips his head in Vanitas' direction. No less subtle than pointing, but perhaps marginally less rude. Because obviously Vanitas is a foreign mongrel who must have some kind of owner looking after him.

"He's been wasting my time rather handily," he adds in Japanese, fairly sure this guy who keeps trying to jab at him can't speak any language other than English. And he'd have words for even that, really.

He shifts on his feet, clearly considering leaving. But he pauses, fishing something out of a bag he's holding. It happens to be a bento box. Which he pretty much shoves at Riku. He liked yellow, right? Pretty sure he did. "For the other day. You should still watch where you're going though."

[darkremnant]

"Hey princess, I think she likes me." Van snickered at the man's dripping disdain. Even if he didn't know the language, that much was still clear.

"She's saying sweet things about me in Asian, huh? I'm sorry Cat lady... I'm not into racists or people that smell like cat piss." He looked down at the box curiously. "What the hell is that?"

1/2

[depolarized]

"What can I say, he looked so pathetic all by himself in the box. At least he doesn't bite me when I feed him," Riku shrugged with a smirk, a little amused as he took another bite of his corndog.

"Sounds like you have the time to waste," Riku noted with a raised eyebrow, before switching back to english to talk to Van. "I wouldn't worry unless you dyed your hair pink-- what's this?" He blinked, genuinely surprised when Suzaku handed him the box. It... felt like one of those lacquer boxes-- it couldn't be...

[depolarized]

"A bento?"

[ex_elude798]

"So you remember them." Suzaku doesn't really sound surprised. If anything, his tone is flat. But he says it all the same. In any event it confirms what the box is, and that's good enough. Although he doesn't really know Riku anymore, and didn't ever know him particularly well, it seemed like the right style to him. Portable shape, mustard yellow, and a few stars on one corner of the lid.

Simple. Yellow. Stars.

About all he remembers about Riku aside from being something of a rival back in the day. "Should be square now." Because he cares about this sort of thing. He always does.

[depolarized]

"You had someone cook me food to make up for nearly pulling my stitches?" Riku asked a little incredulously, biting into the corndog to hold it in place as he opened the bento to see what was inside.

[ex_elude798]

Suzaku would like to let him think that, but it wouldn't be honest. So he shrugs. "I cook my own lunches." Which is to say that, no, he made that. His godfather certainly doesn't make Japanese food and as far as he's concerned most people around here don't do it properly to start with.

[darkremnant]

Van peeked around Riku' shoulder to look inside the box. 'The food' didn't look like something you'd eat, it looked more like a box of knickknacks and rubber. He'd never really eaten sushi and only seen small glimpses of it on television.

His dad never had a taste for it and if the old man hadn't found it useful, it rarely made an appearance in his and Van's life. Looking at it now though, Van felt grateful he'd never encountered it.

"Looks more like that cat made it." He muttered and poked one of the pieces. "You actually eat this stuff?" Paste buns and rubber? "...Masochist."

[depolarized]

"How long have you even been carrying this around?" He took an experimental sniff and was surprised to find it smelled... good, actually. Fresh, at least.

"It's just a lunchbox, brat. Meat, veggies and rice." He picked up one of the octopus sausages and popped it into his mouth, offering the box to Van. "Try the egg, it should be sweet." He glanced at Suzaku to confirm.

[ex_elude798]

"That's how it is," Suzaku says with a light shrug, so he won't jostle the kitten still perched on him. The eggs are supposed to be that way and that's how it goes. Although he has shortcomings, precision isn't among them, and he's quite aware of that.

As to how long he's had it, well. It's fresh. There's nothing more to really say about the bento as far as he's concerned.

[darkremnant]

Van tilted his face away from the box. "Sweet eggs don't sound as great as you seem to think, Princess." He chuckled and gently pushed the box away.

[depolarized]

"Suit yourself." He popped a little roll of omelette into his mouth and was surprised to find it was actually pretty good. Cold, but still good. "Not bad," he notes with some surprise. "I didn't think you knew how to cook."

[ex_elude798]

"Learned out of necessity," Suzaku shrugged lightly again. He'd found most "Japanese" food in the States was just a pale imitation, the further he got from the Pacific. Considering his tastes, there really weren't many options.

[darkremnant]

"Sweet eggs are never a necessity. Have you even tried western food?" Van raised a brow wondering how high this guy would turn up his nose if he put a cheese burger or a pizza in front of him.

"I know where they have some great pie. You can't be so racist you'd say no to pie. That's not sexy, Cat lady. You'll never get chicks with a pie hating attitude." Racism doesn't help either, but right now that's not important.

[depolarized]

Riku laughed a bit at that. "I'll eat his share if he doesn't want it."

He had another sausage before packing the bento back up to put on the bench with the rest of Van's things.

"Neccessity? Don't you guys have maids here?"